


for once in my life (could just something go right)

by shutupimshakira (Sniperdoodle)



Series: Edeleth Week 2020 [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Female My Unit | Byleth, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26724934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sniperdoodle/pseuds/shutupimshakira
Summary: Or Edelgard and the Terrible, Horrible, no Good, Very Bad Week (And How Byleth Tries to Make It Better)(Edeleth Week Day 7: Once)
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Edeleth Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944229
Comments: 1
Kudos: 72





	for once in my life (could just something go right)

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from For Once In My Life, by the Decemberists

Edelgard is having a very bad week. 

It started when Byleth had to leave for a mission to deal with unrest in Faerghus. She has had to leave the capital for military reasons many times, but this time: Edelgard couldn't find sir Paddington. 

Sir Paddington is the armored stuffed bear Byleth gave to her years ago at the academy, and he had protected her from nightmares during the years of war. Whenever Byleth had to go away, he would make a reappearance. However, this time she had misplaced him. She recruited Hubert, the only other person that knew this dark national secret, to tear apart her room in search of him. They were unsuccessful. 

So, Edelgard has not gotten one good night of sleep this entire week. 

The next day, a new maid chased her cat, Wolfgang, out of the palace, thinking he was a stray. (Even if he wasn't the Emperor's beloved pet, all strays are allowed in the palace at the Empress's insistence). Edelgard spent the evening with Ferdinand and Hubert searching for Wolfgang in Enbarr. In the end, one of Hubert's spies found him, dirty and with a nick in his ear. Edelgard tried to give him a bath . . . which was a mistake. 

On Wednesday, she not only gave a diplomat from Almyra the wrong set of documents, but a page of doodles somehow found their way in there. Ferdinand finished the meeting while she wanted to die from embarrassment. 

Things continued to pile on top of each other. Accidentally knocking over a massive page of documents and spending an hour sorting through it. Tripping and spilling a cup of wine on a trade agreement. Wolfgang avoided her in fear of another bath. Annoying nobles who think they’re better than everyone else. Falling asleep at her desk and arriving late to a council meeting.

But, out of everything that happened this week, this had to take the cake. 

* * *

As much as she loathes it, once per month Edelgard allows nobles to come to council to air their grievances. It is the worst day of the month, and it just so happens to be today. 

And of course, today one of the nobles, Lord Brice, has decided to filibuster over her newest tax laws. 

Edelgard doesn't know if she can deal with this right now. She got two hours of sleep last night and forgot to eat breakfast. As long as he keeps talking, she can't leave and it would be rude to have food brought in. But she hates feeling bad for herself. 

She'll feel bad for Caspar instead. 

Somehow, some way, Caspar became her first option for minister of military as a replacement for his father when he retires. She invited him to the palace this week to see what council is like and today is his first meeting. 

"Uhm, what is he doing?" Caspar asks Ferdinand, doing his best to whisper but she can still hear him from across the room. 

"He is practicing his right to filibuster," Ferdinand answers. 

Caspar's face skews in confusion, "What does that mean?"

"He will talk for as long as he can without leaving the room or until Her Majesty agrees to his demands."

Caspar doesn't look too happy about that. Neither is she. 

Hubert leans over to whisper, "Will you be able to handle this today, Your Majesty?"

"I can."

"You're lying."

"I'm _fine_ , Marquis Vestra."

He doesn't look too convinced, but backs away to talk with a servant in the corner. The servant leaves, and Hubert returns to her side. 

Edelgard does her best to sit up straight and look like she's paying attention. In reality, she has zoned out Lord Brice’s inane dribbling. 

The servant returns five minutes later, carrying a pitcher of water and a glass. They hand it to Hubert, who pours a cup and takes it up to Lord Brice. The noble doesn't even think twice, takes the glass, and begins to drink in-between sentences. She knows exactly what Hubert is trying to do. Hopefully it acts fast. 

* * *

Four hours and five pitches of water later and the noble is still talking. Caspar has almost fallen asleep multiple times, with Ferdinand kicking him awake. The other council members look equally annoyed, but the noble is not budging. 

"This man has a bladder of steel," Hubert hisses. 

"Marquis Vestra," Edelgard sighs. Lord Brice is talking so loudly she doubts that he'll hear her, "Is there any trick you have up your sleeve to end this faster?"

Hubert smiles wickedly, "I think I do, Your Majesty."

He sends the servant away one last time, and they come back with another seemingly normal pitcher of water. However, a few minutes after Lord Brice drinks the glass of water Hubert hands him, his stomach growls loud enough to echo in the room. He promptly excuses himself and runs out of the room. 

"I declare this session of Council over," Edelgard says before the door closes behind him. "You are dismissed."

The Ministers leave the room, while Caspar, Ferdinand and Hubert remain with her. 

"You didn't poison the man, did you Hubert?" Ferdinand checks. 

"Not at all," Hubert says. "Well, nothing that will harm him. It's a simple laxative."

"Laxative?" Caspar questions. 

"It causes . . . sudden bowel movements," Hubert says. "Hopefully, he will make it to a restroom in time."

"I don't want to think about that," Edelgard sighs. She switched topics, "Caspar, I'm sorry that this was your first experience at Council."

"It's alright," Caspar shrugs. "But I don't think I'm built for this kind of thing. I can't sit still for that long of a time."

"This was an odd occurrence, but I understand," Edelgard sighs. Even though she knew Caspar replacing his father was a long shot, it's just another piece on the pile of shit this week has been. "Thank you for trying, at least."

"No problem," Caspar says. 

A servant runs into the room, breaking up the conversation, "Uhm, Your Majesty? Lord Brice has . . . uhm, _relieved_ himself in the hallway."

"I will handle this," Hubert says before Edelgard can glare at him. "Lady Edelgard, please go and rest. Ferdinand and I will get you if there's anything urgent."

Usually, she'd try and argue, but today she’s too tired too. She leaves Hubert to clean up Lord Brice's accident, but stops by her office to grab some paperwork she forgot to finish this morning. 

When Edelgard gets back to her room, Byleth is there. 

"Hey El," Byleth says. 

Edelgard runs up to her wife and hugs her, "By, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to be gone for another two weeks."

"Hubert called me back," Byleth says. "His letter said that I was needed for emotional support." 

"Well, this week may have been … rough, but you're also needed more elsewhere," Edelgard insists. "What about your mission?"

"I ran into Caspar on my way in, and he said he was willing to replace me," Byleth explains. "And El, you know that you're more important to me than any old mission."

She burrows her face into Byleth's neck, not willing to let go, "I really missed you, By."

Byleth leans down and kisses her forehead, "I missed you too. Oh! And before I forget."

Edelgard has to let go of Byleth so she can run over to her rucksack and pulls out … Sir Paddington. 

"I think he accidentally fell into my bag when I was getting ready to go," Byleth rubs the back of her head as she brings him over. "I didn't realize I had him until we were three days out. By the time I thought to turn around I got Hubert's letter. He survived the bottom of my bag alright; he didn't get dirty or anything."

As Byleth explains, she hands Sir Paddington to Edelgard, who squeezes him in her arms. She's a bit shocked to see him, having given up on finding him after turning her room upside down in her search. 

"El?" Byleth asks. "Are you alright?"

"I've just," Edelgard sighs. "Had a really bad week." She leans forward into Byleth's arms, resting her head on her shoulder. 

"Oh so that's what Hubert meant by emotional support," Byleth realizes, absentmindedly rubbing circles on Edelgard’s back. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to help make things better." 

“It’s okay,” Edelgard insists. She already feels better, just being held by Byleth. 

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” 

She does. So, Edelgard vents. She talks about missing Sir Paddington, not getting enough sleep, Wolfgang getting out, all the ignorant nobles she’s had to deal with, every single minute thing that bothered her and weighed her down. It’s a lot, but it helps to get it all off her chest. 

“Feel better?” Byleth asks once she’s done. Edelgard only nods. “Why don’t you change out of your regalia and we can relax.”

“Help me?” Edelgard asks. 

“Of course.”

With Byleth’s help, they get her out of the layers of armor and dressing and remove the crown to let her hair down. Once she’s in something more comfortable, Byleth leads her over to the bed “just to lie down for a bit”. Of course, with both Byleth and Sir Paddington back (plus many nights of sleep deprivation) she falls asleep within five minutes. 

* * *

When Edelgard wakes up, Byleth is nowhere to be seen, replaced by Wolfgang on the bed. She questions if it was a dream or some sleep deprivation induced hallucination, but she still has Sir Paddington with her. Thankfully, she’s not alone for long. Byleth enters the room carrying a tray of food.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Byleth sets the tray down. “I got us dinner and tea. It’s Bergamot. And I asked the dining staff to make saghert and cream, but I figured we should eat dinner first.”

“You didn’t have to do all that,” Edelgard insists as she stands up on the bed (making sure she leaves Sir Paddington right on her pillow). 

“Well, really, the dining staff did all the work,” Byleth says. “Come, sit down.”

This meal is the best she’s had all week, probably because she’s sharing it with Byleth. Wolfgang comes and curls on her lap as she eats, the first time he’s done so since she attempted giving him a bath. A maid brings in dessert shortly after they finish dinner. 

“We should take a bath,” Byleth suggests as they eat. “It’ll be nice.”

Edelgard stares at her, “Byleth von Hresvelg, are you attempting to spoil me?”

Byleth reaches across the small table and squeezes her hand, “Only because you deserve it, especially after the week you had.”

“Hhm, then I suppose I’ll just have to deal with it,” Edelgard sighs, though she can’t hide her smile. 

“Then, if you’re so willing, you can have the rest of my saghert and cream so I can run a bath,” Byleth pushes her dish across the table. 

“Well,” Edelgard begins to dig into Byleth’s left-overs. “I won’t object.”

Byleth laughs as she walks away. Edelgard heads into the bathroom to join her once she finishes eating, and is surprised to find that the tub is already filled with warm water. Knowing how long it takes to get enough hot water to fill the tub, she asks, “Did you plan this out too?”

“Maybe,” Byleth admits. “Like you said, I wanted to spoil you. Hold on, it needs one more thing.” Byleth grabs a vial off of one of the shelves and dumps the eternity of it into the tub. Bubbles instantly start to form on the surface. 

“My light, I think that may have been too much,” Edelgard says. Usually, they only need a third of the vial to cover the surface with a layer of bubbles. Byleth poured the whole thing in. 

“No, it’s fine.”

It is, in fact, too much. By the time the two of them undress, the bath has turned into a mountain range of bubbles. 

“Hhm, okay, it may have been too much,” Byleth admits before climbing in. “But they’ll pop in a bit.” She settles in the tub, and looks up when Edelgard starts laughing, “What?”

“You have bubbles all over your face,” Edelgard laughs. 

“Well, come on in and get covered in bubbles with me!”

Edelgard laughs and slowly descends into the tub. The water is still warm, but she fears that if she sits down, she’ll suffocate in bubbles. 

“Sit down,” Byleth insists.

“My light, I don’t want to drown in bubbles.”

“Oh. Then, come here,” Byleth waves her over, so Edelgard parts the bubbles to make it to her wife. Once by her side, she pulls Edelgard down so she’s sitting on her lap, and her head is over the bubbles. Byleth rests her chin on Edelgard’s shoulder and whispers in her ear, “Is this better?” 

Edelgard shivers as Byleth’s breaths tickles her ear, “I suppose. Still too many bubbles, though.” 

Byleth hums against her skin, and they sit together while the number of bubbles slowly starts to decrease. When the piles get to a much more manageable size, Byleth asks, “Can I wash your hair, El?” 

“I don’t think you’ll be able to do it from that angle, let me get off your lap,” Edelgard says, but Byleth’s arms tighten around her waist. 

“No, I like having you here,” Byleth whines. “I can do it.”

“If you insist.”

Byleth begins to cup water in her hands and pour it on Edelgard’s scalp, careful so to avoid getting any in her eyes. She grabs the near-by bottle of shampoo and begins to rub it in, Edelgard melting into her touch. She says, “I still can’t believe that your hair’s coming in brown again, El.”

Edelgard smiles, “I know. It seems like a miracle.”

“I can’t wait to see you with a full head of brown hair,” Byleth says as she begins to rinse the suds out of her hair. 

The two of them soak a bit more before the water gets too cold and their skin starts to prune. Even after all the time they spent in the tub, there are still bubbles floating along the surface. Once they dry off, they get ready for bed, and Edelgard is happy to be back in Byleth’s arms. 

“So, are you feeling better?” Byleth asks. 

“Yes, I am. Thank-you, my light,” Edelgard leans in and kisses Byleth’s cheek. “You’re too good for me.”

“It’s nothing you don’t deserve,” Byleth insists. “Good night, my heart. I love you.”

“I love you too, my light.”

It’s safe to say that Edelgard slept the best she had all week, all thanks to Byleth.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed this! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you want more of my general nonsense, follow me on Twitter at [shutupimshakira](https://twitter.com/Sniperdoodle12).


End file.
